I need a bike - any experts

My Rockhopper has a lockout on the front forks that reduces the travel to about 20mm. This is perfectly adequate for road and most towpath use, while still having the option of proper suspension if the going does get rough.

The best of both worlds really :D

I'm currently using a pair of totally smooth tyres and have only fallen off once this winter, on ice, and i'd have come off on standard tyres too. You do suffer a bit on very muddy towpaths, but on hard surfaces you lose no traction or grip and gain about 5 minuites in a half hour journey.

Re the bike you want, i like the Specialized range and the Hardrock fits in to your price range nicely, or the Rockhopper for a bit more. Both are highly upgradeable and will last you for years, the hardrock is slightly heavier. Both are fitted out to a very high standard.

Another upgrade you may want to think about for the future are disc brakes which are not the gimmicks I once thought they were! I wouldn't be without them now, i don't know if my riding style has changed through knowing i can stop in half the distance but they have saved me a couple of near misses on the road. With the number of idiots driving these days you need to be able to stop quickly, and brakes are not something to skimp on :)
 
Minority said:
Thanks guys. What are disc brakes? Can they be added to my bike at a later date? Shorter stopping distances sound good.
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The Brake is on a disc on the centre of the wheel rather than direct on the wheel rim.

When they are new you'll wonder why you spent the money, but once the rotor has worn in they are brill.

They can be retro fitted, and you want fluid (Hydraulic) ones not the cable type. Cost about £150 i think, but well worth it.
 
You'll need hubs with disc mounts, and caliper mounts on the frame & forks too.

Cable discs aren't really worth it imo, hydraulic however are the best and will cost you around £100 each (disc, caliper, lever and hose) give or take.

On a bike to be used solely for commuting/road use however I wouldn't bother spending the money, well set up v-brakes will do just fine.
 
My cable discs are actually alright. I expected them to be much worse. They're not perfect, but they stop me just fine. I'm going to get some hydraulics though when I've got some spare money.
 
Cable discs aren't bad as such, but I wouldn't spend money on them as an upgrade from v-brakes. The cables are prone to stretching as they're that much longer than rim brake cables, they can take a lot of fiddling to get set up right and they don't offer and real power increase over a well set up v-brake.

On cheaper bikes too, you usually find that the other components on the bike (drivetrain, controls etc) have been downgraded to fit cable discs into the budget.
 
OK, I spoke to the guy at my local cycle shop and after discovering that he doesn't have the cyclone in he said he had the tempest (the one above the cyclone) which is supposed to be £370 and he'd do it for £300. He has now found out he doesn't have that but he has a brand new 2005 Storm (one above the tempest) which is supposed to be £450:

Ridgeback Switch Storm (Click Storm on the right)

He said he'd do that for £370, and with a helmet, lights and a lock he'd do it all for £400.

Good deal? The bloke mentioned even though the storm doesn't have disc brakes it has really decent brakes - this true?

Thanks again.
 
Same frame and fork but better wheels and groupset from what I can see. Go for it, £400 for the bike and the bits is still a good deal.

See my previous post about cable discs too, not really worth it. The Storm has caliper mounts front and back, and the hubs are disc ready too so at some point in the future if you really feel the need you can upgrade to hyro-discs for around £200, probably less.
 
Sorry, what's a groupset?

Also, the tempest (the one above the cyclone) has disc brakes, yet the storm (the one above the tempest) doesn't have disc brakes - why not? Are the brakes on the storm better then the tempest?

Thanks
 
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Just thought I'd show you my bike... and specifically the tyres I was going on about - I have Continential ContactSport ones, currently... Thin groove to get rid of the water, I suppose... They're 26"/1.6.

bike_2.jpg

bike_1.jpg

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I have cable disc brakes - which work great for me. Since the brakes (and gears for that matter) are all enclosed in the hub, everything works just as well in the rain... and is pretty low maintance.

...I seem to be collecting accessories at a good rate :)

Next bike will be a nice light, but proper italian steel road bike. One day.
 
The groupset is the gears/drivetrain and brakes.

The Tempest does have cable disc brakes yeah, but they're not particularly good ones by any means. Also, as I said in an earlier post, the rest of the components on the bike are downgraded to fit the discs into the budget. The Storm that you're looking at has better components (gears, controls, probably brakes too).

I'd definitely go with the Storm if I were you.
 
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blueCAT said:
I have cable disc brakes - which work great for me. Since the brakes (and gears for that matter) are all enclosed in the hub, everything works just as well in the rain... and is pretty low maintance.
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Yours is a Nexus groupset right? Unless things have changed, I'm pretty sure they use internal drum brakes and not discs. I could be wrong though.
 
Big Chris said:
Yours is a Nexus groupset right? Unless things have changed, I'm pretty sure they use internal drum brakes and not discs. I could be wrong though.
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I never did quite understand the difference... they have cooling discs... and I've seen them labeled as 'disc brakes' but they're really 'roller brakes' - and yes, it's the Nexus InterM 75 package. Looks like this:

BR-IM75-F-large_v1_m56577569830561995.jpg
 
blueCAT said:
I never did quite understand the difference... they have cooling discs... and I've seen them labeled as 'disc brakes' but they're really 'roller brakes' - and yes, it's the Nexus InterM 75 package. Looks like this:

BR-IM75-F-large_v1_m56577569830561995.jpg
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Same principle as with a car drum brake really.

With discs, the disc itself it bolted to the hub, and the caliper containing pads sits either side of the disc, clamping it from either side when the lever is pulled.

With drums, the pads are located inside the drum, and are pushed outwards onto the inside of the drum as it rotates with the wheel.

Discs are more powerful though for one reason or another, hence most standard cars have discs up front where more stopping power is needed, and drums at the back.
 
I have been commuting to work on my bike for over 6 years. I started on a Fully Rigid Trek 820 then added some Indy S forks for comfort. I highly recomend a small amount of suspension for commuting.
Road bikes are quicker but it depends on the rider. I ride my Heckler to work (5" full sus) and I overtake some roadie's. The whole suspension saps your energy thing is rubbish. If your energy isn't lost through the suspension it will be lost through wheel's and tyres. I did a test where one day I locked out the rear shock and guess what? I was NO quicker. As long as you don't get a full sus Asda job for £120 then some suspension is a good thing!

Disc brakes are a good idea. They DO NOT lock up with one finger unless you want them to. They also last a lot longer than rim brakes. I have the original pads on mine after 2 years and 5000miles. So the long term running cost is low.

As for the LTS - A guy at work still commutes on one! Don't tell him he is slow with all that suspension! :p

The Ridgeback is a good bike, I have seen a few of them on the road.
 
weescott said:
The whole suspension saps your energy thing is rubbish.
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That's not striclty accurate. You ride a Santa Cruz Heckler, which is primarily a more XC focused design, with a URT (unified rear triange) suspension layout. This means the pivot is placed so that when the rider stands and put the gas down on the pedals, the rear end effectively locks out, or becomes less active under pedalling to allow the power to be transmitted from the cranks/drivetrain to the back wheel (ie. when climbing).

With a DH/Freeride frame, more often than not they are single pivot designs which are fully active in all circumstances, but the pivots are placed in certain positions to avoid pedal bob (which contributes to a lot of wasted energy when riding full suspensions). Frames like the Santa Cruz V10 and Intense M3 use what has been labelled as a Virtual Pivot, which further eliminates pedal bob when cranking it, but still allows 8-10" or rear travel.
 
Theres a big difference between a foes and a halfords special lol. Im sick of working on crap bikes day in day out when i really am into good bikes.Im after this warranty replacement,brand spanking new stinky primo 06 frame for £700! what a bargain. All the money is getting thrown at the pc though.

Anyway,you dont want disks for just commuting.I had Vbrakes on my Ht for a while and they were fine if they are decent,no plastic lever crap here, IKE brakes with good pads and deore levers and they were sweet.I then went to tektro disks i got for free but after a trip down a long steep hill one day i realised what fade was........i got myself some hayes hfx9's 8" upfront 6" rear.Now that is too much stopping power for a HT they stopped me + a mate going down a hill at like 25mph now thast 26 stone n i would say thats good.Basically good set up V's are fine.But i have brand new unused hope mono mini 180mm and magura lousie FR 06 180mm for sale :D

GET A SPECIALISED!!!!!
 
Disc brakes are a good idea. They DO NOT lock up with one finger unless you want them to. They also last a lot longer than rim brakes. I have the original pads on mine after 2 years and 5000miles. So the long term running cost is low.
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Running cost low? Depends where you ride... you can destroy a set of organic pads in a single ride in the Peaks. Even the life of sintered (£15 to £20 a pair) are rated in weeks, not months.
 
#Chri5# said:
Running cost low? Depends where you ride... you can destroy a set of organic pads in a single ride in the Peaks. Even the life of sintered (£15 to £20 a pair) are rated in weeks, not months.
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I thought the 2 year 5000 mile claim was a little dubious. Perhaps riding once a week, uphill on tarmac yeah but as #Chri5# says, if you ride in nasty off road conditions regularly then the pads will disappear pretty rapidly. You can get different compounds which have different braking characteristics and wear rates though.
 
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